types of files used in print

1. Digital Graphics
File Formats
Thomas Williams

2. Raster Graphics
A Raster graphic is made up of bitmaps. Bitmaps
are made up of pixels, each pixel has a specific
colour for that area of the image. Images made
from bitmaps have a pre set resolution so when
resizing an image it can develop some distortion
(pixilation) in the image. The images taken by
modern cameras are raster graphics, so when a
camera states it’s a 10 megapixel camera this
means the final image will be made of
10,000,000 pixels.

3. Vector Graphics
Vector graphics are made up of vectors/paths,
vectors have a defined start and end to them, these
will have angles, curves and points between them.
These vectors can be made into any shape possible.
When vectors are resized there is no pixilation or
deterioration in the image. Vector graphic are
perfect for images that need to be used on multiple
times at many different sizes, such as a company
logo that will be small on a pen but large on the
side of a vehicle.

4. Raster Graphics

5. JPEG
Stands For Joint Photographic Experts Group
Used For/Example Images on the Internet and photographs
Advantage One of the most common file types when
it comes to picture files, this means there
are lots of programs that can read JPEG
images. They can also be read on all
modern mobile phones.
Disadvantage JPEG images can lose there quality over
time if they are compressed and
recompressed with multiple edits, that is
why it is best to only save a finished image
in a JPEG.

6. TIFF
Stands For Tagged Image File Format
Used For/Example Desktop publishing, TIFF’s are very popular
with graphic designers.
Advantage A single TIFF file can have a multi page
document saved to it.
TIFF’s also have the ability to be saved
with lossless compression which means
they do not lose any quality when they are
compressed.
Disadvantage Generally quite a large image size, so
larger storage devices will need to be
used. Majority of websites do not support
TIFF files and the ones that do have a very
slow upload speed.

7. GIF
Stands For Graphics Interchange Format
Used For/Example Used to create small animations often
found on the internet.
Advantage They use a relatively small file size so there
able to be uploaded to the internet quickly
and still retain there quality. GIF’s also
support a transparent background, this
means they can be placed on top of any
background.
Disadvantage There are only 256 colours that make up a
GIF file so they can appear pixelated at
times. Another disadvantage is that once
the GIF has been animated it can not be
edited anymore meaning if there was a
mistake you will have to go back and start
again.

8. BMP
Stands For Bitmap
Used For/Example Similar uses as a TIFF and JPEG file, so they
would be used for things like images on
the Internet, photographs and desktop
publishing.
Advantage Doesn’t degrade over time like a JPEG can
with multiple edits and saves.
Very versatile file format because it is
supported on nearly all devices and a large
range of programs.
Disadvantage Can be a very large file size, compression
can be achieved but the file must but
uncompressed before it can be used which
can slow down the reading process. Can
not be scaled very well so normally must
be used at the resolution it is saved in.

9. Vector Graphics

10. PSD
Stands For Photoshop Document
Used For/Example Image manipulation
Advantage A PSD file remember all layers separately
and any individual formatting you have
done to each layer.
If desired it can support a transparent
background but this can still only be used
in Photoshop.
Disadvantage A PSD tends to have a very large file size,
especially files that have many layers with
lots of adjustments to each layer.
Can only be read by adobes program
Photoshop so the file needs to be
converted to a more widely used file type
like JPEG.

11. AI
Stands For Adobe Illustrator Art
Used For/Example Creating company logos
Advantage Can be scaled up or down to any size as it
will not lose any of its definition.
Can be opened on a multitude of
programs such as Adobe After Effects,
CorelDRAW, DrawPlus, just name a few.
Most advanced vector format widely
available to the mass market.
Disadvantage Even though it is the most advanced
vector file it is not a standard format, the
standard format for vector graphics would
be PSD.
Newer versions may have compatibility
issues with older programs.

12. FLA
Stands For Flash File
Used For/Example Creating animations and games
Advantage Can be used to create very high quality
documents with a relatively small file size.
Ability to use sound and video to enhance
project.
Disadvantage Unable to be uploaded to the internet so it
has to be exported as a SWF (ShockWave
Flash) file first.

13. WMF
Stands For Windows Metafile
Used For/Example WMF files have a similar use as AI files
they are also used for clipart images.
Advantage Can be scaled up and down with out any
loss in quality.
Unlike some vector file types, a WMF file
can contain both vector and bitmap parts.
Disadvantage Work best on windows devices as it was
initially designed for windows.

14. File Format Capture
and Optimising

15. Compression
Definition Compression is the processes of reducing
a files size by limiting the amount of
coloured squares that are saved.
Advantage An advantage to compressing a file is that
it is easier to upload to the internet, email
to somebody or view on the internet.
Disadvantage The higher the compression the more
chance pixilation can occur.

16. Image Capture
Method Scanner
How is it used for image capture of
graphics
It is used to capture physical images, these
could be drawings, printed photographs,
pages from magazines, etc.
Method Camera
How is it used for image capture of
graphics
A camera is used to take photographs of
the world around the photographer, most
commonly taken in a digital format (JPEG
file)
Method Graphics Tablet
How is it used for image capture of
graphics
This is used for more precise manipulation
of programs like Photoshop to create more
accurate artwork.

17. Optimising
Why would you optimise? You would optimise an image to make
viewing on the internet easier.
How can you optimise? You can optimise an image on Photoshop
by changing the image size to no more
then 500 pixels wide.
Advantage to optimising An advantage to optimising an image is to
increase the download speed of the file.
Disadvantage to optimising A disadvantage to optimising an image is
that you end up with a relatively small
image that if it is a file that uses bitmaps it
may not scale very well.

18. Storage

19. File Size
What could affect a Working Scale
(Photoshop) document file size?
There are a few things that can effect a
PSD file size, these include the size of the
image, the number of layers used, also the
number of images used and there original
file size.
How could you reduce the file size of a
Working Scale document without
affecting quality?
To reduce the file size you could merge
certain layers together, you could also save
it in different formats that retain the
quality of the image but have very small
file sizes like a JPEG.
What is an advantage of scaling up images
before exporting?
Pixilation is more likely to occur when
scaling an exported image up then scaling
it down.
What is a disadvantage of scaling up
images before exporting?
By scaling a image up before exporting will
increase the file size.

20. File Naming Conventions
What naming conventions could you use
when creating your video game assets?
• Specific names
• Numbering
• Descriptions
• Dictating the part of the video game it
is for.
Why is it a good idea to accurately name
your assets?
Is to use specific names that will accurately
depict where that certain asset should
belong in the final project.

21. Asset Management
Why would you use folders when storing
your assets?
You would use folders to split up assets
that could have similar names but are for
different parts of the project.
What folders would you create and what
would you save within them
I would create folders for each character of
the project, within each folder would
contain the different assets that make up
the character, such as left arm, right arm
and other body parts. These assets would
have the same name as assets for other
characters.